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  <title>
    Deb Nicholson receives O'Reilly Open Source Award
  </title>
  <meta name="date" contents="2014-09-09 10:45" />
  <meta name="author" contents="Christopher Allan Webber" />
  <meta name="tags" contents="deb, award" />
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<p>
  Those of you who follow MediaGoblin closely likely know of Deb
  Nicholson, our community manager.  This post is a bit late, but
  nonetheless, I wanted to share something exciting that happened:
</p>

<p class="blog_image">
  <a href="http://media.fossetcon.org/u/bryan/m/img-9637/"
     ><img src="/blog_images/deb_receives_award-scaled.jpg"
           alt="Deb Nicholson receiving the O'Reilly Open Source Award" /></a>
  <br />
  <i>
    Deb Nicholson receiving the O'Reilly Open Source Award.<br/>
    <a href="http://media.fossetcon.org/u/bryan/m/img-9637/">Photo by Bryan Smith</a>,
    released under
    <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported</a>.
  </i>
</p>


<p>
  That's right!  Deb Nicholson won the O'Reilly Open Source Award, one
  of the most recognized awards in the FLOSS world, for her work on
  GNU MediaGoblin and OpenHatch.  Here's the text of Deb's nomination:
</p>

<blockquote>
  Deb Nicholson has been a sparkplug for Linux and FOSS advocacy and
  she can best be described as the traffic cop at the intersection of
  technology and social justice. A free speech advocate, economic
  justice organizer and civil liberties defender for years, Deb became
  involved in the free software movement. She is the Community
  Outreach Director at the Open Invention Network and the Community
  Manager at MediaGoblin. She also serves on the board at Open Hatch,
  a non-profit dedicated to matching prospective free software
  contributors with communities, tools and education.
</blockquote>

<p>...as well as the message from the award announcement itself:</p>

<blockquote>
  Deb Nicholson works at the intersection of technology and social
  justice.  She became involved in the free software movement about
  five years ago when she started working for the Free Software
  Foundation. She is currently the Community Outreach Director for the
  Open Invention Network and in her spare time, she serves on the
  board of OpenHatch.  Congratulations Deb!
</blockquote>

<p class="blog_image">
  <a href="http://media.fossetcon.org/u/bryan/m/img-9637/"
     ><img src="/blog_images/deb_sitting_with_award-scaled.jpg"
           alt="Deb Nicholson receiving the O'Reilly Open Source Award" /></a>
  <br />
  <i>
    <a href="http://media.fossetcon.org/u/bryan/m/img-9687/">Photo by Bryan Smith</a>,
    released under
    <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported</a>.
  </i>
</p>
<!-- Deb sitting with the award -->


<p>
  Deb and I have known each other from when she used to work at the
  Free Software Foundation and we became friends over time.  I've
  always been impressed with the tireless work Deb has put into making
  the world of free software a better and friendlier place for
  everyone, as well as her extensive knowledge gained from a long
  history of social justice work.  Early on in MediaGoblin starting up
  as a project, I talked to Deb about it and asked if she'd be
  interested in being involved.  I'm glad I did... Deb has brought
  much to the project and I constantly lean on her skills in writing,
  her sharp wit, and her clear and regular guidance on how to build
  MediaGoblin into a better community.  MediaGoblin wouldn't be the
  same place it is today without Deb working with us.
</p>

<p>
  Deb, thanks for your work on MediaGoblin, OpenHatch, and so many
  other things... and for being a great friend to myself and many
  others in the MediaGoblin community!  We're glad to have you here!
</p>

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